I have used the phrase "crazy as a Banshee" many times as a figure of speech. I never really knew exactly what is a banshee. I was playing in the yard with my puppy, Markey-Mark and he was acting goofy and crazy and I thought, "What a banshee!" My quest led me to a scary website which actually explained that a banshee is a female spirit whose screams sound like a wild animal. I don't think I have been fair to my Markey. He doesn't scream like a wild animal, he just acts like a happy, happy puppy! So, going forward, I shall refer to my happy go lucky bouncing puppy as just that, a happy go lucky lovable but goofy puppy.

When I grew up, I was a cat person. I always loved Dogs too but was only allowed to have a cat. My first cat was a black and white tuxedo cat. I loved that little cat, Whiskers was his name. When the family went on vacation, we had the neighbor look after him. When we returned we were told that he ran away and never came back. I was heartbroken. My parents got another cat that we named Twinkle Toes because she had those extra toes. My memories of Twinkle are quite clear and vivid.

Meet Whiskers, my first little Tuxedo kitten

Twinkle-Toes, the cat with an extra toe on each foot.

Twinkle was fierce. She was the epitome of an independent female, and I learned a lot from her. She stood her ground and even went nose to nose with a German Shepherd dog, backing him down. In those days, neutering a cat was a rare occurrence so needless to say, Twinkle had several litters of kittens. We always found homes for them but ended up keeping one special one. Frisky. We had Frisky for about 5 years and he passed away from distemper. Twinkle outlived him but ultimately passed at 13 from cancer.And so began my prequel to being the retired old cat lady. Don't misunderstand me, I am definitely not there yet but have several friends who are including my daughters! i remember each and every one of my kitties. After Twinkle came Charlie named after Charlie Chan. He was my first Siamese cat and certainly not my last. When I got married, I thought it best to leave Charlie with my parents since he had stolen their heart and I did not want to take him away from them. My husband knew how much I loved cats and surprised me one day with a cute little tabby kitten who he had named Ding-Dong because she would run around in circles after her tail. My heart grew with each cat that I adopted. There was Fluffy, Neffie and Ramsey . Toby, Tyler and now Leo. Each one was special and loved and stories of their loyalty and devotion will follow in a later post. The last three were tuxedo cats and I have to say that Black and white cats are very special. Leo thinks he is a dog. He was very young when we got him and he immediately thought that my chocolate Lab was his mom. She did not appreciate his breast feeding attempts but that did not stop him from snuggling up to her. They eventually formed a strong bond. Leo is very tolerant of other dogs as well. When we adopted our new puppy I was concerned that he may not take to him but he did so admirably. He took the playful puppy under his wing and showed him the ropes.

There is a common bond between cat people. We know, we just do. We get it. We purr and meow when we see a cat as if to say hi and introduce ourselves to it. I don't bark when I see other dogs but I do meow when I see cats. Why??? I haven't figured that one out yet but I think it may be one of the wonders of the universe. By the way, you don't have to have 100 cats to be a crazy Cat Lady. You just have to love cats, have at least one cat that you speak to regularly in their language, of course.

​So, there you have it. This is how crazy cat ladies are made. One endearing feline after another until they completely turn you into a meowing, purring human.

I have owned dogs since the 1970's but never before now have I owned a Pooper Scooper. My husband generally took care of the yard. He claimed that when he mows, it picks up the poop, which it did. My past dogs also had manners. They would never poop on my lush green lawn, they always went in an obscure corner along the edge of the fence so that if something was missed, then it would be out of the way. As the owner of a new puppy who has absolutely no concept of what is politically correct, he poops wherever he wants.I suddenly had the need for poop bags and Pooper scoopers. There is a jungle of different types in all price ranges. I looked at the ones at our local PetSmart which were metal and pretty heavy. I eventually did get one from Amazon which is lightweight and can withstand being left out in the rain and weather. It is plastic and can be operated with one hand. It is spring loaded and grabs the poop and holds it until you release the trigger. It is simple and convenient and even the kids want to help seek, grab and destroy!

I forgot what it was like to have a high energy puppy in the house! Marco is now 7 months old. We are still not sure what mixture our Mutt has. We know that his mother was part shepherd and we can see some Lab in him, however I can also see a bit of doberman, ridge-back and hound. We have no idea how big this guy is going to be. What were we thinking? I guess we have always been drawn to large breed dogs. Our first was a Shepherd-Austrian Cattle dog, then we had a male yellow Lab who was 125lbs in his prime and then a Chocolate Lab Girl who reached an overweight weight of 80 in her prime. Now we adopted this Mutt. A rescue dog. His story was very sad. His pregnant mom was picked up and she gave birth to a litter. In her desperation to protect them, she killed and ate them. Our Marco was the sole survivor of this carnage. He is very lovable and affectionate despite witnessing this helter skelter. We give him three one mile walks per day and we all play ball with him in the yard. The neighborhood kids come over and love playing with him too. Here is a video of me playing with Markey-Mark.

Buddy is my friend Sharon's Boston Terrier. He has a wonderful life with her but it has not always been easy for either one of them. Sharon lives alone and her family is far away in another state so she does not get to visit often. Sharon works with me and when I met her, she had a little Boston Terrier named Bailey. Bailey was an older gal who had been with Sharon through thick and thin but she was old now and starting to show her years. When Bailey passed away, Sharon was devastated. She cried for days and I really worried about her. All of her friends persuaded her to adopt another dog but she just wasn't ready.

Then one Monday, she came into work after being in Virginia visiting friends and she announced that she found the man of her dreams.

Whoa! I thought, this from a woman twice divorced who loves her independence?

She proceeded to describe a Boston Terrier who she met through her friend's rescue efforts. He was about 5 years old and had a rough beginning. You see, he was owned by a family with a little boy who took pleasure in torturing this little dog. He had gouged the dog's eye with a sharp pencil, not once, but two separate occasions. He had one eye removed and the other one was partially blind, before the vet had the dog removed from the home.

Despite his unhappy beginnings, Buddy is a happy boy now who loves to play. He has adapted to his blindness and if you didn't know, would think he had his sight. He goes to the park daily and takes lots of walks. Whenever someone visits him, he will always offer one of his toys to play with him.

I truly believe that when a pet comes into our lives, it is because they have chosen to be with us. You get the pet that you are supposed to have. Sharon and Buddy were surely a match made in heaven.

I recently posted this picture of my dog and cat on Facebook. I got many comments about how it is the same in other households. So, it got me thinking. Why is it that our furry friends insist on jumping in bed with us, or without us, in this case. I was up and getting ready for work and they just couldn't wait to jump in my warm spot.

My husband and I are true animal lovers and have always welcomed our pets to share our bed and house as part of the family. Sometimes when I tell people this, they think I am a bit over the top. These are people with pets too! They are absolutely horrified that I would allow these dirty creatures in bed with me. I don't think of them that way. They are my babies. ( Yes, my human kids are all grown up)

It has been a long time since I had a dog in bed with me. Our Chloe who recently passed, could not get up or down for several years, so she slept on a doggie mattress beside us. This new little pup who has insinuated himself into our heart and home is a snuggle bug. He even likes snuggling with the cat if you can believe that!

They say that there are many health benefits of having a close bond with a pet. Just petting the animal lowers your blood pressure. They also keep you active by walking them and playing ball or taking them to the doggie park. You are never lonely, always needed and these guys are great secret keepers. I cannot even imagine life without a dog and cat.

I came across this picture and it reminded me about an incident that happened years ago. We had just gotten our Chocolate Lab girl. She was 9 weeks old and not used to sharing a home with a cat. I loved to spoil her and would buy her all sorts of treats. One day my husband picked up one of said treats off of the floor and was trying to figure out what it was. He said to me as he was rubbing it in between his thumb and forefinger, " These new treats that your bought Chloe smell like s**t!" Well, my dear, that is because those treats did not come from me but from the the cat pan!" Ewww. I wish I could have taken a picture of his face at that very moment. It was priceless and causes me to laugh out loud to this day when I think about it.

Geez!! I recently had the opportunity to review some bully sticks. At the time, my dog was too old to chew on them so I gave them to my Fur Grand-baby, my daughter's dog Alabama. He is quite the chewer when it comes to rawhide, ham hocks and pigs ears. I knew he would enjoy them.

These delicious rolled sticks come with such a foul odor that it is hard to believe that dogs actually like them. Okay, so as a responsible, pet loving mommy and grandma, I felt it was my duty to make sure these were made of only wholesome ingredients. The main ingredient is pizzle. So, at first glance, I thought Italian cookies. These did not smell like my pizzelles. Then I took another look and noticed the spelling. I wasn't quite sure of this Pizzel so I googled it ...of course. To my horror, I discovered that this is the penis of an animal, especially a bull, according to Wikepedia . All righty then.....if you haven't already guessed it, those long, thick brown sticks are just the dried penis of a male bovine.This thought provoking information makes me wonder who invented these? My search led me down a path that I did not want to go. What I thought was a healthy treat, turns out to be a bulls penis which is high in calorie and can carry potentially harmful bacteria. I never did locate the inventor but at this point, it is just not that important anymore.

Have you noticed that everyday is designated to "national something day?" It is hard to keep up anymore. National pet day, national sibling day and now National Pet Parents day. When will it stop? Half of the world is a pet parent, at least half.

Having a pet all of my life makes me wonder how life would be without these fuzzy, loving little creatures. As a pet parent, you have lots of responsibilities. You are responsible for loving them, feeding them, addressing their medical needs, exercising them, training them, teaching them manners. In return they give you so much. Their undying love, loyalty and protection. They offer companionship and are the best listeners and secret keepers. If you are a pet parent, you know what I am talking about, if you aren't, then you are missing out on one of God's most treasured gifts. When you have a pet, you are never alone.

I have a dog and cat. They both have their own little personality and are both loyal companions. Cats are a little more independent and less demonstrative of their love but they will sit in your lap, purr and be equally loving.